Diseases of the Respiratory Organs. 177 
. pulse to be small, hard and frequent. Animal tempers 
ture is also high. Expectoration is absent. A character- 
istic sign of pleurisy also in the later stages is the dis- 
position to sit on the haunches as in pneumonia, and 
finally to stand until he drops dead. 
In each of the foregoing diseases the animal indicates 
much suffering on account of the difficulty-in breathing ; 
he actually struggles for air as he sits or stands ; the 
breath is offensive and the tongue hangs from the mouth 
apparently useless and is livid and extremely foul. As 
the chest fills with water, usually on one side only, the 
patient would lie, but the inconvenience he suffers causes 
him to rise almost at once. Dropsical swellings now 
appear, the respiration is laboured and painful, and the 
muscular spaces between the ribs are pressed outwards by 
the fluid within the chest. Ifthe hand be carefully laid 
on these the heart-beats will be felt as a thrill as the fluid 
is moved by the pulsations. The tendency of the disease 
to attack one side only often renders the progress slow ° 
and protracted, the immediate cause of death being a 
form of internal drowning. 
The Zveatment is based on similar principles i in each 
instance. Pure air is not only. essential but curative, and 
is therefore indispensable in the routine. The best of 
nursing is required in order that comfort, warmth, and 
quietude may be ensured, and this, in conjunction with 
-all known means of supporting the system by nutritious 
and digestible food, will fortify the system against the. 
many depressing phases of disease, as well as aid the 
physiological action of remedies in the way of cure. With 
regard to medicines, the choice will lay with those of a 
stimulating, expectorant, and febrifuge character in order 
to support the system, control the circulation and promote 
free expectoration as a relief to the usually overcharged 
lungs in pneumonia and bronchitis. Bloodletting, emetics, 
and purgatives are so much poison and must be scrupu- 
lously avoided. To relieve the oppression of the chest 
the spongio-piline, as described under poultices, is an in- 
valuable remedy; a good substitute is opodeldoc to 
which a small proportion of strong ammonia or turpentine 
; 12 
